India, China to start talks on civil nuclear cooperation

New Delhi: India and China on Thursday decided to begin the process of discussion for cooperation in civil nuclear energy sector, an important component of their respective national energy security programme.

This was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his summit meeting with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping during which the two leaders discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues including contentious boundary dispute and recent Chinese incursions in Ladakh.

"We will begin the process of discussions on civil nuclear energy cooperation that will bolster our broader cooperation on energy security," Modi said at a joint press event with Xi.

Thursday's announcement came within a fortnight of India inking a deal to buy uranium from Australia, which has about a third of the world's recoverable uranium resources and exports nearly 7,000 tonnes of it a year.

"As large developing countries committed to promoting the use of clean energy, India and China believe that expansion of civil nuclear energy programme is an essential component of their national energy plans to ensure energy security," officials said.